THE ELECTIONS.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 November 1919, Page 3

THE ELECTIONS.

THE WAITOMO SEAT. MR. W. T. JENNINGS AT WAITARA. Mr. W. T. Jennings, M.P., who is standing for Waitomo, had a splendid reception at Waiti'.ra on Thursday evening, when lie addressed an audience of .over lf)0 at the Clifton Hall. Mr. It. Morgan (Mayor) presided, and, in introducing Mr. Jennings, who was enthusiastically received, on entering the hall, paid a'tribute to his work in the interests of the district, and especially in connection with returned soldiers. DEFINITION OF LIBERALISM. Mr. Jennings said that the soldiers in France sang "It's A Long Way To Tipperary," and it was a long while before the reforms came out that they had been promised. Taumarunui electorate, he said, had done its duty nobly in connection with the war, having sent 2SOO of its best young man, many of whom would never return. In denning his position, he said ho would be loyal to the ideals he had always stood for when lie had advocated Liberal, Labor, and Democratic measures. Liberalism, to liis idea, meant equality of opportunity, that was- to give, every child an of getting a fair share of vvl'iii existed, ami not allow the privileged few to have if all. THE WAR REGULATIONS. Many people had complained about the action of the Government in restricting the liberty of the subject during the war. but he pointed out that this had been done during the M n ori war. Indeed, wherever there was a war the power of the military has to be asserted, otherwise the advantages <n the military organisation and discipline could not lie enforced. He did not favor militarism as far as the extremists would go in this country, and now the war was over, he thought that crowd' of those engaged in military affairs in Wellington, and particularly in me Defence Office, should get back to more useful work. He was not against the training of cadets and the formation of rifle clubs. Indeed, military training produced discipline and smartened noting men up. but they must be careful to limit the expressive militarism desired liv some people in this country. Now thai the war was over, he thought that the regulations, which wore no doubt necessary for the cefenco of the realm, should be wiped away. " . TOE PRIVILEGE OF VOTING. He urged all to see that their names were on the roll, not that they should vote for him, but as a privilege. THE COST OF LIVING. He would say unhesitatingly that profiteering was going on in this country. In the last, week of the session he received a circular that had been sent to a farmer, showing that wire, which was .12:1!) in dune, 1010, had advanced to £52 in September; grass seed and other farming necessities had also advanced, despite the fact that the war was ended. The IPremier had promised to refer these charges to the Board of Trade. All were led to believe that the prices would fall after the war. but it was certain that, 'unless the people asserted themselves and I sent the right men to Parliament, they would have to pay higher and higher for lihe necessaries of life. As they judged I a horse on its past performances, so should they take a man for the work he had shown. GRAPPLING WITH THE QUESTION The New South Wales Government had ;" "iablished woollen mills, which manti ■"acturcd all wooi tweeds at -Is 'ld per , yard, and the Defence Department sold it ■:t -is (id per yard for suits for returned soldiers, who received them at from 2<>s to 32s per suit. Mr. Massey admitted he knew what AustraVa was doing in the matter. If this could lie done in Australia it could be done in New Zealand. If returned, he would move in the mattei. SETTLING THE SOT.DTERS. At Otorohanga he wa ■■■ ,i--kcil by tiic executive of the Returned Soldiers' Association why one month's pay was deducted from the gratuity payable to some • soldiers. Three cases were cited and if there were any more in Waitara he would gladly lay them before thr> Defence Minister. Regarding the repatr'ntion, if returned soldiers 'were placed on high-priced land with high-price stock and high cost of grass seed, with the j land purchased at a low valuation they could not succeed. Should the value- ' tion be bumped up, should (hey lose nome oi their cows, or suffer ill health, or should there be a fall in produce, where would they land? They should take cai'e that men were sent to I'arlitment who would stop this and see that people who go on the laud have a fair chance of getting on. A soldier might as well be buried on Gallipoli as have a millstone of debt round his neck. LAND AGGREGATION. He had said in the Hnn-e throe years ago that land aggregation was going on. j and Mr. Massey denied it. Now a Bill had been brought down by the Minister of Native lands containing cl.T""os to check it. Land aggregation was going on, and he quoted cases in support of the statement, contending that the evil was not in. the interests of the people This aggregated land, he said, would only rise to a pinnacle of greatness by iloser settlement and intense cultivation, and he instanced what had been done in Belgium and France. Land should not be for the few but, for every one. When we got the ideal condition that every man owned his own home and his own garden we would have lone a. long way to settle the unrest jthat prevailed. People could not afford to pay for rent one day's wages-out of I the poor pittance they received. He I was not, against, capital, which was necessary, but a better distribution of weal tli was wanted. • ADVANCES TO SETTLERS. Tn the King Country there were struggling men and women who did not get a fair deal from the Advances to Setj Hers Department, whose officials often lav the blame on the Valuation Department. Men were wanted in Parliament symnathetie to those grand laws passed liv Ballance and Scddon in connection with advances to settlers, pensions, workers' compensation, etc.. for which •hey had to fight at the point of the bayonet. It was the men climbing up the ladder that required assistance, and the irksome delays caused through routine and red tape and officialism wore enough to dispirit the people and break their hearts. This red tape must be curtailed. He touched on the delays of throwing open improved land for settlement, pointing out that there was 20,(100 acres, near Tariagomutu. of splendid

land on which soldiers would be put at £1 per acre, instead of paying the present high prices. STATE COAL MINES. A return asked for by him some years ago showed that the Advances to Settlers Department, Advances to Workers, Insurance, etc, showed a profit of £l,573,140. If the State could do that with those departments, surely it could go further. Take the State coal mines. He did not advocate the Government buying privately-owned coal mines, but he thought that the State could develop the coal fields in the Mokau, Marokopa and Ohura districts, and, after seerng that the miners had good housing conditions could supply the people with cheaper coal. He would not bo afraid to vote for the opening of State coal mines throughout the district. CHECKING AGGREGATION. He had been asked how he would chock the land aggregation. He would allow any man to hold G4O acres firstclass, 2000 acres second class, and 4000 acres third class land, but he would not be able to register the title under the Land Transfer 1 Act, and so would not be able to dispose of it. HOUSING PROBLEM. Personally, he preferred the scheme for housing proposed by Sir Joseph Ward, whose opinions must carry great weight. As far as building was concerned, the price of timber was out of reason, but he believed a scheme for building concrete houses expeditiously and cheaply could be evolved, well within the means of the poorer people. THE EQUALISATION FUND. Some years ago he had said in that hall that where people were oppressed by prices of anything they should be helped onl of the Consolidated revenues. No matter what industry had to supply the people at a loss the Consolidated Fund should make up the loss. That was the reason lie voted for the payment. The Government should have commandeered all produce, and then there would have been no complaint, but they singled out tho dairy farmer, who was the hardest worked of the lot. In this connection he mentioned having that day received a telegram of thanks and confidence from the directors of the Marokopa Dairy Company. He also held up a sheaf of letters and telegrams conveying thanks fiom Borough Councils, County Councils, etc., and, wfiat | pleased him most, letters from vathcrs, and mothers of soldiers who wrote him about their boys. LIGHT RAILWAYS. He was a strong believer in a light railway. Formerly he held a, different view, but the success of tiiis class of railway in France, where' it carried heavy loads, together with 'its rapidity of construction, had convinced him that it; would lie suitable for New .vaiami, some parts of which would never get railways under the present system. He instanced the Stratford Main Trunk line, which had advanced 47 miles in 20 years, adding that life was too short for the peonle of the baekblocks to wait, so long. With the development ot nydroolcetrieiiy there was a groat future. Some ten years ago the Government had a trial survey made of the line to Mokau. but it was considered there would be- difficulty over the bridges at Waitara and Mokau. Thor"fore he considered Mr. Jones had done good work in again agitating. PUBLIC WORKS SYSTEM The whole system of pubiic works was instituted on a wrong basis. Firtoen or sixteen lilies were in course of construction, with the result; that there was a great expenditure on supervision, also, "low construction work. Why not concentrate on three and push them through quickly so that the country can at once obtain some benefit, instead of as at present, waiting years and ye:irs and seeing little done? It wanted a strong man to get up and urge this policy. Look at the road between Urnti and fe Kuiti. Nothing had been done practically for fifteen years, -and the position was getting worse. He was not blaming Ihe engineers, as four and a-half years of war was a deterrent. Moreover, men would not stop on the work. They could get 15s elsewhere, and would not work for the Public Works Department for 12s. If the Government wanted I work done, and the work had to be I done, the Government must pay the rate of wages ruling. The cosr. of living was | ;">0 per cent, dearer in the backblooks. land if men were required to go back and j make roacK the Government should eithj er pay them higher wages or else establish a system of cAnteens where they can get their food at a reasonable rate. If the Government coueontraiMi rneir men, 200 could get supplies cheaper iftan ,six. He had made a suggestion that the men engaged in the Tunnelling Corps should, be offered contracts under their own officers, and he ventured, to say that had this been acted upon, the Mokau bridge would have been erected almost before they had thought of it

MOKAU-WAITARA RAILWAY. Ho would do his best to push on the Waitara-Mokau railway, if it came before Parliament. With the coal, timber, and lime available it would pay to have the line constructed. Indeed, a firm had offered to build it, providing they got the running rights for a number of years. The position of the settlers in those districts was worse than it was 30 years ago. Roads were bad and the rivers were not so navigable, and in this connection he regretted the loss of the Marokopa. "Something has got to be done, and if a move is not made to open up that quarry and get. metal for Mt. Messenger I am inclined to think there will be a row, and I will take a prominent part in it." CONCLUSION. Tn concluding he asked them to east their votes for the man whom they thought, would work in the best interests of the country, and he asked to be judged by his work of the past fifteen years. To-day, he had but one thought, that of helping his fellow men and women. He had been fighting the battles of labor for years, and he was proud of his connection with Trade Unionism. He expressed the hope that no bitterness would bo brought into the right. Any measure that; appeared to be needed by justice and right would be supported by him, no matter from which side of (ho House it came- He made feeling reference to the death of the late Mr. Colvin and after referring to the admission of women to Parliament resumed his seat amidst applause, with which also his address was frequently punctuated. No questions were asked. Mr. W. F. Jenkins moved that this meeting heartily thanks Mr. Jennings for his interesting and instructive address, and expresses its continued confidence in him as its representative. Mr. T. Taylor, president of the freezing works and allied trades, seconded the resolution, which was carried with acclamation.

In the course of hj« reply Mr, Jennings

touched on education, and 'said that he was now somewhat of the opinion that the harsh things said about the education system were not altogether warranted, because men at Home and in Prance had been very much impressed with the gentlemanly behaviour and educational attainments of our soldiers. It was necessary, however, to go further and adopt the best methods in educating our children. People of the highest moral character and of the best attainments must be induced to take up the teaching profession. A vote of thanks was accorded the chairman/

SHE STRATFORD SEAT MAJOR HINE AT INGLEWOOD. Major Hine addressed ofer 400 electors at the Inglewood Town Hall on Thursday evening. The Mayor (Mr. Sutherland), presided. Major Hine commenced by saying that he could not forget the support he received from Inglewood when he first stood for Parliament. Inglewood was now the county town, and he believed the formation of the new county would mean better roatls and better conditions. He wa3 not going to deal with the past in his political address, for they had en-' tered a new era calling for a new point of view. He upheld the National Government as far as its war work was concerned, but said that its domestic legislation had sometimes had an irritating effect. He blamed the National Government for its failure to mobilise the civilian population, and obtaining from all the best service they could give in the interests of the country. In breaking away from the National Cabinet, the Liberal Party had not done the fair thing. (Applause). About four months ago there was a great deal of dissatisfaction with the National Government. Sir Joseph Ward fully appreciated this, and, believing that the leader, as was usually the case, would get ithe whole of the blame, had resigned, but not a paper in the country had upheld him, while on the other hand, the Reform Party had gained considerable ground. Mr. Massey was now looked upon an the strong man the country needed. (Applause). POINTS OF CLEAVAGE. It had been said that, there were no points of cleavage between the two parties, but this was not true. One was the question of extreme Labor. Mr. Massey had stated that rather than retain office with the assistance'' of the extreme Labor he would resign, and he was supported by the whole of his party. No such guarantee had been given by Sir Joseph Ward, and therein lay' the danger. (Applause). Another question on which they differed was lina:,,-e. During Sir .losepn Ward's period of office as Minister of Finance. .C1.'i.000.000 in surpluses had accumulated. Sir Joseph Ward proposed to invest this money at a low rate of interest, and borrow money witn which to put returned soldiers'on tho land, but in his manifesto -'ssneo snortiv after, ho wanted to know why the Government eniild not borrow outside. Dealing with taxation. Major Hino said tho greater nnrtion of it came from those best able to pay. Tn lrii-i the income tax totalled I'S-in.OOO. and last year it reached .-en.2in.oon, which showed what a large proportion of taxation came from the wealthier classes.. He did not say that the increase of taxation was altogether right. The Government was out to help every class in the community, and (ho working classes were in the first category. The reconstructed Government had done more than any other Government to increase wages 'He then dealt with increases to railway servants.

A voice: Are you going to give us another bob, John? "We will if you can earn it," ronlied the speaker. He justified the increases to public servants, which had totalled £1.000,000, and said he hoped private employers would treat their employees ! n a similar way. They had a right to look to their workers for support, though no guarantee would he given that liiali wages would lie paid for poor serviees. The candidate dealt fully with education, and said that a sum of half-a-mil'.ion was available this year for building primary and secondary schools. IMMIGRATION. The Government favored an immigration scheme. In every walk of 'like there was a shortage of labor, and it had to be remembered that we had lost l'd.ooo of our best men at the war. He briefly referred to the British Government's scheme for sending to the Dominion ex-soldiers and -their wives, which Mr. Massey had accepted. In addition to these, well-selected immigrants would be brought out. As an instance of the shortage of labor, lie said that the other day the Government invited tenders for 30 houses in one of the cities', and not a tender was received. He next referred to the attitude of some of the- Labor leaders during the war, and said that their actions then wore not in comformity with their ; .-ofessed regard for the returned soldiers' welfare when they proposed an increase of the gratuity. A voice: Who suggested the flat rate? Major Hine: "I think T did. It is a very good proposal anyhow." Tho gratuity was not in any sense a recompense, and the amount was only limited by finance. The Liberals wanted, to make political capital out of it by suggesting a larger amount, while the Labor Party proposed 4s. A voice: And quite right, too! Major Hine: The gratuity question is settled, and we now have the question of repatriation. The schemes under which a soldier was enabled to get h:i"k into civilian life, and helped on to tho land or business, were dealt with. He defended the valuations of land for soldiers by the Government, and said that they were doing the best, thing for tho soldier in refusing to pay the high prices sometimes asked. Because of this soliders could not always get the pi •- ticular piece of land they were after, and the result was discontent. It, had been said, generally by the unthinking, that the Government was paving prices that were too high. Up to October 31, the average price of tho land bought for sub-division for soldiers was £ll p.-r acre, and for single farms bought loi- individual soldiers £lB 12k Od. THE COST OF LIVING. Major Hine went on to deal with the efforts to keep down the cost of living. The National Government had failed because they did not, after fixing the price of the raw product, follow on to the consumer. To more effectively deal with this question, legislation had been passed by the Reform Government, giving the Board of Trade almost ualimited powers,

He explained the provisions and effc-t of the legislation passed with a view to solving the housing problem. Th.no. was no reason why the Government should not now, in order to redaee the cost of living, import building maier'anand sell them direct to the people. ~l don't know," continued the speaker, "whether the people here are interested irr butter." (Laughter). A voice: No eomprce, Digger! Major Hinc then referred to the refund of the butter-tax. A voice: When are you going to pay it? Major Iline: It is in the hands of the Supply Board now. For the present year it will be paid shortly. If'it was paid now they might be charged with bribery. PRODUCE COMMANDEER. Dealing with the commandeer of the produce, he pointed out that the statement that New Zealand had sufleral from the high freights charged by snipping companies on produce was not correct. The whole of the freights and the insurance had been, paid by the Imperial authorities. Prices as a result of the high freights had not decreased, but on the other hand had increased. He was not sure that itwould not be wise to continue thd present arrangement with Britain for ilie next three years. People talked about the loss, but it had been greatly ro .-.or advantage. After dealing with the value of produce taken by the. Imperial Government from the .Dominion, ho pointed out that by increasing production they would not suffer ,;o much by depreciation in prices. In dealing with New Zealand's responsibility in regard to Samoa, he Baid there were now 9000 indentured Chinese working on the Island, and this was another point on which they differed from the Labor Party. These Chinese iiad been brought -to Samoa for three years, and it was the intention of tic; Government to continue the present system for a year. Meanwhile, other means of working the island would be tried, and if they failed they would have to- continue with Chinese. Referring to the old age and' widows' pensions, Major Hine said the Reform Government, had had to remove anomalies for which a panicky National Government had been responsible for during the epidemic. He combated the argument that land aggregation could he cheeked by the State taking something out of every transaction. If this was to apply to land it should apply to other transactions as well. A Bil! had been passed by fV Government under which if a man purchased land in excess of his requirements iwd against the best interests of the State, the Government could, if the 'and lind been valued by its own valuer witlr'i two years, take it at valuation, plus 10 per cent. Referring to strikes and lock-outs. Major Hino said he would make them illegal. Ho had no time for the man who paralysed industry. (Applairo). Britain had moved in this direction, f.n-1 it was only n matter of time wiiou !li r "' would bo illegal in all civilised centres. .He could .Tsuiiic that the Reform Parly were out to maintain law and order. Concluding, Major Hine said the Reform Party was gaining ground, and the lat"?t information was that tl:ry were go : ng to have a clear majority. A voice: Xover on yonr life! One of the most gratifying tilings I to his party w.v. (lie position taicon no j bv Mr. Clutha Mackenzie, the son nf a Liberal, who said that the most virile men in the House were on the Ref.v'm side. The Liberals lived in the past, and (lie Reform Party lived for the future. QUESTIONS. A questioner asked what, the diiTerciuc was between a man who refused to sr.i. his labor at loss.than a certain figure and flic man who took up the same position in regard to wheat. Major Hine: The Governmqnt cannot make a man work, neither can thev make him grow wheat. The trouble with the striker is that ho wants to stop other people from working. A voice: Are you in favor of preferential voting? Major Hine: What do you mean? Two votes for boor and one for no-license? The questioner: Having been away from New Zealand for four years you have got. behind the times. (Laugh!or). After the question had been made clear. Major Hine said he would profew two i«sucs only in the ballot paper, as more tended to confuse. He was a prohibitionist, and would like to see prohibition tried for a time. Asked if he had sold land to the. State, he said he had sold land to his brother 20 years ago, and his brother had, he believed, sold land to the Government two years ago. "If you want the whole family history come to my house. I'll give it to you." (Laughter and applause). On the motion of Mr. A. Marshall, seconded, by Mr. B. Codd, a motion thanking Major Hino for his able speech and expressing confidence in him and the Reform Government was carried